Who needs Superfast Fibre Connections?

Broadband has become more and more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use on a daily basis that bank on broadband connectivity seems to increase. The quantity of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that each person has in their homes, seems to increase every day.

Bigrigg Broadband Deals For September 2024

Connection Type	Availablity
FTTC / Fibre / Superfast Broadband	Yes
Cable / Virgin Media	Some Areas
ADSL / Broadband	Yes
4G	Yes

Working from home is commonplace as it saves people being stuck in commuter traffic, something that most of us need to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to come to grips with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances logged on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company has the ability to do what they want online– all at the same time– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns broadband connections of around 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to go online , stream music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively above most internet users.

While the current average UK internet connection is around 12Mbps (2014), high speed internet products deliver speeds of approximately 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks which include Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does fibre connectivity operate?

Unlike many UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s quickest internet product – the 100Mbps service from Virgin (it’s 200Mbps in some areas) – is delivered by a cable, or fibre-optic, broadband network. These cables are made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper cables used by standard DSL internet .

BT also offers a more than 76Mb fibre-optic service called BT Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK homes in in the near future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have used BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband services of their own.

However, fast broadband is not only available to people in a fibre broadband locations. Fast broadband is not exclusively on offer to people in a fibre-optic broadband area. If you live within a certain distant of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by subscribing to selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This type of connection uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but because of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of as high as 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “as much as 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the wiring and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live a city or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of approximately 16Mb or more. This still provides ample bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which high speed broadband product is the best?

Among the UK’s fastest broadband products is Virgin Media’s 152Mbps service. Virgin Media, which also offers 50Mbps broadband products as a bare minimum, is able to deliver such fast connections because of its superfast fibre-optic connectivity network.

BT’s Infinity package delivers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the aforementioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre optic network and feature headline speeds according to BT.

 

 

Broadband products offering an up to 16Mbps (or thereabouts) connection are available from most providers. The arrival of these speeds has been facilitated by an upgrade of BT’s network with ADSL2+ technology, enabling the existing cabling to carry more data.

How do I get high speed broadband ?

Your first step is to decide which fast internet services are available in your area . Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of fast broadband

Fast broadband enables you to use all the entertainment available on-line. You’ll have the ability to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you watch what you want , when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for big downloads.

Fans of on-demand show will love their favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer , including rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by super-fast connectivity means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the opposition and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of high speed connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and based on things that are out of your control , like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the exchange . Despite the fact that super fast connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher cost .

Who is  high speed internet  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people downloading music , video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of high speed connectivity .

If you are a heavy downloader or are one of the increasing number of consumers who prefer to catch up with TV programmes online, it makes sense to sign up for a fibre internet deal – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

High speed connectivity is also ideal for fans of online console usage. This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is commonly caused by slower ADSL connectivity products. This can seriously ruin your online gaming pleasure.

If you only use the internet for checking your e-mail and for the occasional search, it’s more prudent to decide on a traditional ADSL deal .

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